Trump Denies Report on Tax Returns: 'It's Totally Fake News'
President Donald Trump on Sunday evening denied a report by The New York Times regarding his tax returns, claiming it was "fake news."
Trump also refused to discuss his tax returns after the report said he paid only $750 in personal federal income taxes for 2016 and 2017.
"It's totally fake news. Made up, fake," he said. "Actually, I paid tax, and you'll see them as soon as my tax returns are done"
The report also claimed that Trump did not pay income taxes for 10 of the past 15 years, Business Insider said.
The tax returns report revealed a string of financial losses that reportedly helped him avoid paying taxes as well.
When he was pressed to estimate how much he paid for his federal income taxes during 2016 and 2017, he did not give exact figures.
He simply said he "paid" a lot for federal income tax and state income tax as well. "New York State charges a lot, and I paid a lot of money in state," he said.
New York Times claimed the president was beset in hundreds of millions in personal debt, due in the next four years, USA Today said in a report.
Losses of the president amount to over $315 million at his golf courses since 2000. Another loss of $55.5 million was found at his Washington, DC hotel since its opening in 2016, said the Times.
The report's analysis found that Trump earned millions abroad since he took office. It raised concerns about conflicts with his role as president.
There was also a claim saying Trump spent $70,000 to get his hair styled for "The Apprentice."
A massive tax refund of $72.9 million in 2010 was also subject to an audit by the Internal Revenue Service. The article said there is at least $100 million on the line in the ongoing audit.
Trump Slams IRS for their 'Treatment'
Trump said all of his tax returns were under audit. "They've been under audit for a long time. The IRS does not treat me well," he said.
He accused the IRS of mistreating him during his Sunday press conference.
"They treat me like the Tea Party," Trump said. He added that there were people in the IRS who treated him "very, very badly."
Trump had made repeated claims that he can't release his tax returns while they were still under audit. But this was denied by IRS commissioner Charles Rettig.
Trump nominated Rettig for the position back in 2018.
In a statement Sunday night, Trump's attorney, Alan Garten, said that the Times report was "riddled with gross inaccuracies."
He questioned the "timing" of the news article, which was published just mere days before the first presidential debate.
He said releasing those claims against Trump was "just part of Times' ongoing smear campaign in the run-up to the election."
The chief White House correspondent reported Garten's statement for Fox News John Roberts.
Like USA Today, other news outlets have not yet been able to confirm all of the claims in the New York Times report.
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